The Maw creators prepare for PAX announcement

Twisted Pixel, makers of the Xbox Live Arcade games, The Maw and ‘Splosion Man, announced that it will reveal its next new intellectual property at booth 3102 this week at PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) in Seattle, Washington. The reveal will be a short video presentation at its booth taking place at 4 pm Pacific Time on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. After PAX, the video will make its way to www.TwistedPixelGames.com.

Not much else is known about the announcement but Twisted Pixel is known for being a bunch of cheeky bastards sometimes, so you’ll have to wait and see.

Hothead Games Ports Braid, The Maw

Hothead Games is bringing some popular indies that were once exclusively on Xbox Live to PC players. The independent development studios that helped create the Penny Arcade RPG titles has inked deals with Twisted Pixel and Jonathan blow. Hothead Games will port The Maw, the popular Xbox Live Arcade platformer from Twisted Pixel to the PC, and Jonathan Blow’s Braid to the Mac.

This might also lead to Hothead helping these developers port future titles to these platforms at launch - though I am kind of speculating on that fact.
The Maw is a clever platformer featuring a strange pair of aliens who are simply trying to get away from an oppressive humanoid force that captures other aliens for some unknown reason. The game follows the exploits of Frank and the shape-changing Maw, who takes on different forms based on creatures that he eats. Braid doesn’t really need an explanation but if you’re from another universe you can learn more at our Braid game page.

You can learn more about Hothead Games by visiting www.hotheadgames.com

The Maw Gets Its First DLC This Week

I’ll admit it. I’ve got a fondness for Twisted Pixel’s Xbox LIVE Arcade title, The Maw. The game’s got a simple appeal that fans of all ages can get into. Unfortunately, like most great love affairs, my time with The Maw came to an end all too soon. Thankfully, the good folks at Twisted Pixel Games are not one to leave fans heartbroken, and the company announced this afternoon that the first new downloadable content for The Maw will be made available this Wednesday on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for the easy on the wallet budget price of 100 Microsoft Points (about $1.25 for those of you trying to work the conversion in your head).

This is the first of three upcoming DLC levels that Twisted Pixel Games has been working on ever since development on the game wrapped up last year. “There’s a period of time where we’re not allowed to touch the game because it’s going through certification, but there was more we wanted to do, so rather than calling it a day we threw ourselves into making all new levels,” explains CEO Michael Wilford. “We’ve never done DLC before so it’s a bit of an experiment for us, but there seems to be a lot of excitement for it so I don’t think we can go wrong.”

The new downloadable level, dubbed “Brute Force”, will feature new puzzles, characters, cinematics, and more of the critter gobbling action Maw fans have come to know and love. In “Brute Force”, Frank and Maw have to face off against a new foe: the Brute Soldier, a member of the bounty hunters’ elite strike force sent to stop Maw at any cost. The new level will expand The Maw’s storyline as “deleted scenes set in between the main game’s plot, as opposed to being tacked onto the post game plot.

“As with any production, there are always pieces left on the cutting room floor that you wished could have made it into the final cut,” says CCO and Director Josh Bear. “We had a lot of half-finished story elements and gameplay mechanics, so we are picking the best ones, polishing them up and making new levels that are bigger in size and scope than the ones in the main game.”

More on The Maw DLC

Twisted Pixel, the makers of the Xbox Live Arcade hit, The Maw, have been working on creating additional levels for the game since it went gold. The new levels incorporate brand new enemies, fresh cinematics, and additional gameplay. Each level will have new gameplay, animations and characters that make each one a unique and exciting adventure, according to what we’re hearing.

This new content, dubbed The Lost Levels, are available on Xbox Live Arcade and cost a very reasonable 100 Microsoft Points ($1.25 USD) each. Of course, that pricing falls in line with the game’s price point - 800 Microsoft Points ($10 USD). The new content is due in a “couple of weeks.”

It’s interesting to hear some of the reaction to this DLC including some saying that Twisted Pixel was somehow ripping people off. 100 MS points for a level hardly sounds like a nefarious plan to defraud players, but people are entitled to their opinions.. Chew on that while you take a look at three new screenshots from the DLC - after the jump.

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The Rundown: Jan. 14, 2009

Today’s Rundown offers lots of entertaining news bits, but I wanted to show off my City of Heroes Tanker, Back Hair Brawler. This big, hairy oaf uses willpower and super strength to fight crime when he’s not tending to his shiny gingery coat. His only weaknesses? Duct tape and razors. Now onto today’s news…

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IGF Finalists Announced

The Independent Games Festival has named the finalists for its 2009 Independent Games Festival event taking place later this year as part of the Game Developers Conference. The finalists were culled from 226 entries, a 30 percent over last year’s entrants. More importantly, this year’s finalists come in all shapes and sizes - from web games to PlayStation Network games. The selections were made by 40 industry professionals and journalists whose egos are already too big to mention here.

It brings me great joy to see such personal favorites as Mightier and BrainPipe getting the nod, but makes me very sad to see games like Minotaur China Shop and Hinterland excluded from this list.. Oh well.

As always, all of the finalists games will available in playable form on the GDC show floor, and will compete for nearly $50,000 in prizes, including awards for Innovation, Excellence in Design, and the $20,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize, as well as a prize from sponsor Direct2Drive. Full list after the break.

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Austin or Bust For The Maw Developers

The folks behind the promising indie game The Maw will be on the move soon. Indiana-based Twisted Pixel Games are heading south to Austin, Texas, to take advantage of the state government’s cash incentives and developer friendly atmosphere. In joining the Austin development community, the company expects to create 12 to 15 new jobs within the first three months, with plans for expansion to 25 jobs within their first three years. Austin was one of several locations in the running, including Seattle, WA and Raleigh, NC. The company anticipates the move to take place within the next two to three months.

“We look forward to contributing to the growth of the creative media industry in Austin with a very talented team, a shining new studio and highly engaging games,” said Michael Wilford, CEO Twisted Pixel Games, LLC. “Austin’s reputation as a digital media powerhouse and magnet for skilled game developers had the greatest influence on our decision to join the Austin gaming community. The incredible quality of life, cost of living and supportive community in Austin certainly doesn’t hurt either.”

I look forward to playing their game no matter what state they continue to create it from.